The British communications company EE has recently announced a unique mobile service for its customers. EE Power will provide a free portable smartphone charger to all active EE mobile and broadband customers. This new and innovative scheme is intended to ensure that customers of the company are able to keep their mobile devices charged at all times. This is the latest initiative from EE which is intended to demonstrate the commitment of the company to reward customers for their loyalty.

EE is the largest and most advanced digital communications company in Britain, delivering mobile and fixed communications services to consumers, businesses, government and the wholesale market. EE has approximately 15,000 employees and 580 retail stores, and serves more than 30 million customers across its mobile, fixed and wholesale businesses.

Free Power Bar

It will be possible for EE customers to get hold of a free Power Bar in any EE store by requesting a unique code via text. At this point, customers then have the option of charging the portable battery which the company provides by themselves, or instead of swapping it for a fully-charged replacement. This process can be carried out as many times as customers may desire.

EE was one of the pioneering companies for 4G technology in the United Kingdom, and since this next generation mobile technology was introduced it has grown exponentially. Video streaming and social media engagement is now massively important in the UK's mobile sector, and it in fact accounts for over 50 percent of usage on the EE network.

The downside of 4G is that although it delivers ever more absorbing and complex mobile content, it is a strain on the battery life of mobile devices. Despite its immense popularity, the Apple iPhone range in particular has been criticised for is relatively paltry battery life, and this can be magnified by modern mobile networks. Although Apple devices continue to sell like hot cakes, the recent release of the Apple Watch was also somewhat marred by criticism of its battery life.

And statistics show clearly that the battery life of devices is a major issue for UK smartphone users. Nearly 60 percent of regular smartphone users in the United Kingdom claim that the battery in their particular device will not last a full day on a single charge. This obviously means that they will need to charge them every single day, which can be something of an annoyance, and also a ritual which can be easily forgotten.

Charging Smartphones in Public

With this being such a prevalent issue, it is hardly surprising that the majority of smartphone users desire more ways to charge the phone in public places. When surveyed, well over 50 percent of smartphone users in the UK indicated that this would be desirable, but this figure rose to 70 percent of those aged between 18 and 24. EE Power aims to address this issue, and provide consumers with a genuinely convenient way of charging mobile devices when away from home.

EE runs the UK's biggest, fastest and most reliable mobile network, pioneering the UK's first superfast 4G mobile service in October 2012. EE's 4G coverage today reaches 75 percent of the UK population. EE’s 2G coverage reaches 99 percent of the population while 3G reaches 98 percent. EE's superfast fibre broadband service covers 54 percent of the UK population, and ADSL broadband service covers 98.7 percent of the population. So this is a sizeable company, and its initiative should be seen as particularly significant.

In an attempt to make this program as popular as possible, EE Power and Power Bars have been made available to all customers of the company on a wide range of different mobile plans. Thus, whether the EE customer has signed a long-term two year contract, or is merely with the corporation for a 30-day period, EE will still enable users to gain access to this unique charging service. Even Pay As You Go customers have been included, although EE has added a proviso here that they must have been with the company for at least three months in order to participate.

The EE power bar has a capacity of 2,600mah, which provides adequate power to fully charge a typical smartphone. The power bar offers a guaranteed life of 500 charges, and provides the service via a standard micro-USB lead.

Digital Marketing Takeaway

An important takeaway from blissful digital marketers is for those involved with mobile platforms to consider some of the assumptions that we typically make about them. The whole notion of mobile evokes convenience, yet the increasing complexity of both mobile devices and the networks utilised in order to connect them to the Internet is creating issues for some consumers.

While there is a limited amount that marketers can do to overcome these issues on their own, is worth thinking about what can be done to provide services which are less inclined to suck the battery life of mobile devices. This could become particularly important in a world in which wearable technology is prominent, as a smartwatch which needs to be charged on a daily basis is rendered, if not useless, certainly considerably less convenient than consumers would desire.

Discussion

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